Agency

Regulation Authority

RIGL Chapter 23-1

Purpose and Reason

Establish the procedures for administration of an opioid antagonist to an individual experiencing an opioid overdose

The Department finds that there is imminent peril to the public health, safety and welfare and that these emergency regulations should be adopted to
protect the public health. Specifically the Department finds that: 1. Rhode Island is in the midst of a severe prescription and street-drug overdose crisis.
There have been fifty (50) opioid-related deaths since the start of 2014. Many of these deaths are directly related to the use of Fentanyl and Heroin, which
are opioids. Legal prescriptions for opioids, particularly oxycdone and hydrocodone, have increased in recent years. 2. Due to the sharp increase of opioid
overdose deaths in Rhode Island in 2014, expanded access to Naloxone (Narcan) has become an immediately necessary priority to save lives. Pursuant to
the Rhode Island Rules and Regulations Relating to Emergency Medical Services, Naloxone (Narcan) is already considered a standing-order medication
that can be administered to individuals for whom the medication is not specifically prescribed in an overdose situation. By expanding upon the success of
this existing program, more lives could be saved if Naloxone (Narcan) were available to people with drug addiction, their families and other people and
organizations likely to be in a position to assist a person at risk of an opioid-related overdose. 3. Naloxone (Narcan) is sometimes referred to as the
drug-overdose antidote, and it counteracts the life-threatening depression of the central nervous system and respiratory system caused by an opioid
overdose. If timely administered, Naloxone (Narcan) can prevent overdose deaths. Naloxone has reportedly reversed more than 10,000 overdoses. 4.
Under these Regulations, one prescriber is now able to issue a non-patient-specific order to numerous organizations, such as police departments, allowing
for increased access to the opioid antagonist Naloxone (Narcan). These Regulations will enable the person who is likely to discover an overdose victim to
save their life -- a life that could otherwise be lost if the victim has to wait for an EMT to arrive to administer the Naloxone (Narcan).